The Magic Behind Love (Some Things Never Leave You)
by Bingo the Cat
Summary: What if the people at Crewe hadn't been able to keep Henry's memory when he went for the rebuild after his crash with the Flying Kipper? He would have to be reintroduced to everyone, wouldn't he…? Eventual Edward/Henry. Please read and review.
1. I: Faint Memories

**A/N:** I wrote this whilst listening to **I Know How the Moon Must Feel**, **Some Things Never Leave You**, **Summer Sunday**, **Through the Magic Buffers**, **Main Title**, **Lily Travels to the Island of Sodor** and **Burnett and Lady/Diesel 10 and Splodge** from _Thomas and the Magic Railroad_, and the theme of the Flying Kipper from _Thomas the Tank Engine_, Series 1. Whilst listening to the last track, I wondered, _what would have happened if Henry couldn't remember any of the other engines, Sodor or anything from before the crash, including his name?_ And thus, this was born.

**DISCLAIMER:** Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends are owned by… whoever owns them now. Cause it ain't Britt Allcroft, I know that…

* * *

**CHAPTER I**

_~Faint Memories~_

"_Henry… Henry… Henry, wake up!"_

_He groggily opened his eyes, to come face to face with a man he was unfamiliar with. "Who's Henry?"_

_The man – who was Henry's driver – stared into the great face with shock evident in his eyes. The dark pupils of the engine's eyes flitted over the surroundings. "Where am I? Who are you? Who am I?"_

_Henry's driver cleared his throat. "You're at the Railway Works in Crewe. I'm your driver. And… and you're Henry."_

As the long green engine puffed homeward bound, to Sodor, he mulled over his thoughts, which were all jumbled in his mind. All he could remember from before the crash that had gotten him to that point, all his memories, were gone. All except for one small, blue tender engine… who smiled at him in his mind. The smart Stanier Class 5MT wracked his brain for the engine's name, but time and time again, it escaped him. He sighed.

"Almost there, old boy," his driver announced, patting the side of his cab fondly. Henry the Green Engine pumped his pistons, pounding the rails, eager to see the place he had called home for a long time.

* * *

The engines of Sodor rushed about, completing their work in time for Henry's arrival back on the island. Out of all of them, Edward seemed to be the most excited. He grinned more, he laughed along with James and Percy as they made fun of Gordon, and he helped Thomas run his branch line, getting the passengers to their correct destinations.

As they were puffing towards Knapford Station from Ffarquhar, Thomas remarked, "You seem happy that's Henry's coming home, Edward."

Edward smiled at the little tank engine. "That's because I am happy, Thomas. Henry's always been a good friend of mine, despite being a little rude sometimes. I think he follows James and Gordon because he feels like they would bully him if he didn't."

Thomas would have nodded if he could; but he couldn't, so he settled for raising his eyebrows and murmuring, "Right…"

Then, completely out of the blue, the tank engine asked, "Do you like Henry?"

Thrown, Edward frowned and replied, "Of course I do, he's a friend–"

But Thomas interrupted him. "No, not as a friend, I mean as… something… _more_." He glanced at Edward, who had flushed bright red. Their drivers and firemen paused in the engines' cabs to listen in.

"I… I… uh…"

A gleeful grin came onto Thomas's face; it was so wide, it could have split his face in two. "Aha! I knew it! You _do_ like Henry!"

Edward blushed harder, and looked down. "So what if I do? Doesn't mean to say he likes me back…"

But Thomas chuckled. "No, I know Henry likes you as more than a friend. It's obvious – whenever the Fat Controller tells you two to work together, his face completely lights up in a way I've never seen it light up before."

Edward's voice was small, his eyes hopeful. "R-really? You think so?"

"I _know_ so," Thomas assured him. "You'll find out for yourself when he arrives home and we surprise him at Knapford."

They couldn't know that Henry didn't remember anything at all about them, about anyone, not even Edward and how he felt about him…

* * *

Henry chuffed nervously along the tracks, stopping in at Wellsworth Station to take in water and look around at the sights. He saw the trees, hearing the birds sing and the squirrels chatter. He saw the fluffy white clouds rolling through the skies up above. He saw the other side of the station, and immediately, that small, blue tender engine appeared in his mind, smiling and chuffing towards him. A light pink blush stained his cheeks as he looked at Henry with warm, tender (he would swear _loving_) eyes, and said quietly, "I love you, Henry…" in that soft voice of his…

"Time to go, Henry!"

The green engine snapped out of his daydream at the sound of his driver's voice. He sighed, a worried frown creasing his brow as he passed the place where that blue engine had sat a lot, having conversations with him about many different things.

And despite having no memory of his previous life as Henry the Green Engine whatsoever, one conversation had stuck in his mind, and he replayed it as he travelled down the line…

_Henry smiled brightly at Edward as the blue tender engine chuffed into the station, grinning back at him. Henry was pulling a long line of trucks behind him, despite being rather breathless and using a poor lot of coal, whereas Edward was pulling a couple of coaches behind him, who grumbled and chattered but remarked on how nice Edward was with them. Henry chuckled. When they stopped off at the station (giving their drivers and firemen a chance to go and have a cup of coffee with the guards at the back of their trains), Edward and Henry would make idle chit-chat, about anything and everything – the Fat Controller, Thomas, Gordon, James – anything._

_Today, however, would be quite different. "Henry…" Edward asked quietly; Henry glanced over at Edward, smiling as he saw the light pink hue in the engine's cheeks._

"_Yes, Edward?"_

_Edward cleared his throat. "Do you think it's possible for people to have workplace relationships?"_

_Henry's grin turned cheeky. "People or engines?"_

_Edward glared at the chortling engine playfully, and cleared his throat. "Both."_

"_Ah…"_

"Henry!"

Henry's eyes snapped open at the sound of his fireman's voice this time, and his eyes remained open. Now he remembered the engine.

_Edward… I'm coming home._


	2. II: Rekindling Friendships

**A/N:** Thank you to the guest reviewer for… well, reviewing! It means a lot that someone would like me to continue. And so, here is Chapter 2! Written whilst listening to **Some Things Never Leave You** by Joe Henry, the song this story is secondarily named after.

Also, I'm sorry if the first chapter seemed to progress a bit too fast; but the idea is to have Henry forget everyone but Edward, and like the latter as a friend, before remembering how he feels about him and everyone else in succession after that. A few chapters will detail Henry's progressing friendship with Edward after this one, and then we'll move onto the romance section, and so on and so forth. Thank you!

* * *

**CHAPTER II**

_~Rekindling Friendships~_

Sir Topham Hatt, or the Fat Controller as he was more commonly known, stood in his office, holding the telephone and looking very serious. "I see… Nothing at all?… Right, right… I'll let everyone know… Yes, thank you… Goodbye, Watkins…"

He placed the telephone back on the receiver, sighing as he leant against his desk. _Poor Henry. And poor Edward…_ It was recently discovered that the blue tender engine harboured some form of feeling towards the island's number 3. He didn't discourage the affections, but he didn't encourage them, either. He had decided to take a back seat, and let nature (and love) take its course. But now… He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

_You see, Henry has no memory, sir… He can't remember anything from before the crash… Nothing at all…_

The words of Henry's driver echoed in his brain. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

"Why does the Fat Controller look so upset?" Percy asked Thomas, his best friend. Thomas hummed an "I don't know" in reply to the small green engine's question. Gordon and James looked at the Fat Controller with little interest on their faces. Edward was curious, too – it's wasn't bad news, was it?

"May I have your attention, please?" the Fat Controller called out; everyone on the platforms, and all the engines, quieted. He cleared his throat. "It is with a great sadness that I must inform you… after the rebuild, Henry had no recollections of his past life whatsoever." He locked eyes with Edward. "Not even any affectionate feelings he might have had for anyone. He couldn't even remember his driver and fireman, or who he was."

Edward felt tears prickle at the corners of his eyes, and he sniffed; Thomas and Percy looked concerned for their friend, whilst James and Gordon just harrumphed and looked away. They couldn't have cared less. Sodor's number 2 looked at the Fat Controller again, and the head of the railway smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Edward."

Just then, a low whistle that could be recognised as Henry's sounded in the distance, and a plume of fluffy white smoke was visible over the building tops; Edward whimpered, and Thomas sidled up to his friend in reassurance. Edward smiled gratefully at the tank engine.

The green tender engine appeared from around the corner, slowing as he approached the station. Henry smiled, and felt at home when he locked eyes with Edward, the only engine he could remember. He came to a stop in front of his friend, and looked around in wonder. _This is part of the place I called home? Wow. Very impressive._

The Fat Controller stepped forward. "Welcome home, Henry. Your driver did send word ahead of you arriving, and that you couldn't remember anything, so we shall treat you as anyone should be treated–"

But Henry interrupted the portly man. "No, you're wrong. I can remember some… stuff. Not much, but some." He locked eyes with Edward again. "Like you, Edward… Sodor's number 2."

Edward's eyes widened in shock, as did Thomas and Percy's; even James and Gordon looked surprised. Henry coughed lightly. "Only Edward, though, I'm afraid."

All the same, it made Edward smile wider than he had ever smiled before; and again, Henry envisioned him puffing towards him and murmuring those words… _I love you_… Henry grinned at Edward. "Lead the way."

* * *

"…and this is where we all rest at the end of the day. Tidmouth Sheds," Edward finished the tour of the main attractions on the island with the sheds, as he imagined Henry would be tired after touring the entirety of Sodor in one day. But the green engine surprised him by glancing at him with a cheeky smile.

"So? Anywhere you'd like to go? We could talk… I'd like to talk with you." A light pink hue entered Henry's cheeks as he said that. Edward tooted happily, and lead him away to the forest.

Henry chuffed along behind Edward, looking around. "We came here a lot, didn't we? This was always my favourite place."

Edward laughed. "Yeah, we all dubbed it "Henry's Forest" because you always came here whenever you were ill, upset or tired after a long day, before coming back to Tidmouth." He glanced at Henry, smiling broadly. "So, other than me, what can you remember?"

Henry sighed. "Nothing, really. The Fat Controller, now that I've seen him. And I had visualisations of everyone in my mind – it's just putting names with them. It's like I have amnesia – I have to be reintroduced to everyone… But I can remember them once I've heard their name. That's not like amnesia at all." He wouldn't tell Edward that he'd seen the blue tender engine in his mind, saying those three words, over and over again… "Then there was Wellsworth Station – your station," he added, and Edward chortled. "I heard the birds singing in the trees and the squirrels chattering in the bushes, saw the clouds rolling through the skies up above… I saw the place where you would rest whilst our drivers and firemen were getting coffee, where we'd have conversations about all sorts of things…"

"…And?" Edward asked lightly, not wanting to push him into admitting something he didn't want to – though he wished Henry could remember how he felt about him. Henry blushed, and looked down.

"…And that one conversation we had, about workplace relationships…"

Edward flushed bright red as well, remembering the conversation Henry was talking about.

* * *

"_Ah…"_

_Edward grinned. "So you do think people and engines can have workplace relationships!"_

_Henry chuckled, the sound of it deep. "Yes… well, as long as it doesn't interfere with the person's – or engine's – work, then… yes, I think people and engines can have workplace relationships."_

_Edward smirked. "So? Who do you like?"_

_Henry gaped at the tender engine as he howled with laughter at the look on his face. "You…!" He sighed. "Alright then… err… I'm not actually sure…" He smirked back. "What about you?"_

_Edward stopped laughing in an instant; it was Henry's turn to laugh hysterically. "If I could, I'd kill you for that!"_

_Henry grinned. "But you won't…" He blushed lightly. "Because I know you like me…"_

_Edward spluttered in shock. He knew? "Am I really that obvious?"_

_Henry looked at him with his eyes half-closed. "Yeah, you are." His grin relaxed into a small, affectionate smile. "And… and I like–"_

"_Alright, Henry, time to go!"_

_Edward inwardly cursed their drivers and firemen for returning at that precise moment, interrupting their conversation and stopping Henry from admitting his feelings. Henry looked at his forlornly as he left, and Edward's eyes widened._

"_I like you, too," Henry mouthed as he passed the blue tender engine…_

* * *

"Edward?"

Edward snapped out of his dazed state, and looked back at Henry, who was looking at him worriedly. "Sorry… let's go. The others will be getting worried."


	3. III: All Hallow's Eve

**A/N:** Many great thanks to **The Raging Blue Flame** for giving me plenty of ideas for this chapter, and for giving me a FanFiction user to reminisce over Thomas and his pals with. And I'm sorry, readers in America or anywhere else, who see some words that look wrong. I'm not dissing America, but I'm British. We spell things differently. But don't let that drive you away! So, without further ado…

* * *

**CHAPTER III**

_~All Hallow's Eve~_

As days and weeks and months passed, there wasn't a second that Henry didn't miss his previous life with all his memories. Sir Topham Hatt had brought on a new engine, an old tram engine who went by the name of Toby and who became Sodor's number seven. Henry had managed to forge and salvage some sort of friendship with Gordon and James, and he enjoyed telling the other engines of the happier days he had spent at Crewe. He also enjoyed hearing tales of his own times in demise, as well as the others.

Such was one evening when Thomas was reliving the day that Gordon's safety valve had burst, and Edward and Henry had had to pull the express instead, meaning that Henry was let out of his tunnel. "It's unfortunate that you can't remember any of the jokes you, Edward and I made to Gordon after that incident, Henry!" he called down the sheds, smiling at the engine. Edward rolled his eyes in Henry's direction, also smiling. Henry didn't miss the look of affection in Edward's eyes every time they looked at each other. And Henry hadn't missed the continuous times when Edward would just stare at him when he thought that Henry wasn't looking. He wasn't completely oblivious; he knew that Edward held feelings for him that went beyond the range of friendship – on more than one occasion, he'd come back from a late night train and found Edward murmuring to himself in his sleep, such as the words "I love you" and Henry's own name. The other engines found it annoying, but Henry thought it was adorable.

And Henry wouldn't admit it, but he was starting to think of Edward as more than a friend. Just like Edward… _liked_ him.

And it scared him.

* * *

As spring turned to summer, and summer turned to fall, the obvious signs of the approaching All Hallow's Eve holiday went up all over the island. Village children started talking and discussing – and sometimes argued – about whose costume would be better for the "trick or treating" part of the holiday. Decorations were hung up throughout all of the villages and stations.

And some of the schoolboys faced Gordon's wrath after they had painted pumpkins, bats and black cats all over his boiler and tender whilst he had been sleeping in a siding.

One night, the engines were swapping different scary stories that they'd heard from the teenagers and children as they passed through or stopped at stations and villages. Henry looked at Edward, and smiled as he saw the small blue tender engine roll his eyes at James's attempt to frighten Percy with a spooky story.

"Don't believe in ghosts, then, Edward?" he asked quietly – quietly enough to only be heard by Edward and Thomas, who listened in.

Edward huffed. "Load of nonsense if you ask me."

Henry smirked. "Then you might believe once you've heard my story, Eddie." Thomas snickered as Edward blushed when Henry used the nickname he had constructed for his best friend. Henry cleared his throat, and Gordon, James and Percy looked at him, interested. "This is a ghost story I picked up from one of the worker's daughters when I was at Crewe. She was on her school holiday, and she told me all about it."

Already, Percy was quivering on his wheels.

"She told me that where her school is, there used to be a railway for narrow gauge engines. They run on narrower tracks than we do. There was also a standard gauge railway, for us bigger engines. Well, one night, when one of the standard gauge engines was pulling a late night load – a long line of trucks filled to the brim with slate from the quarry nearby – there was an accident. What had happened was that the points between two different tracks – one that was a shortcut to the docks and one that lead to the big town nearby – were jammed, and the signal-box man hadn't managed to warn the stationmaster or train driver when the engine was at a station further back down the line. The engine crashed, and all of the people on the train – the driver, fireman and guard – were severely injured. The fireman and guard survived, but the driver died on site, because of his injuries sustained in the crash. So did the signal-box man, as the train had collided with the switch-box as it crashed and the building collapsed on top of him. They got rid of the tracks there, and built a school on top of it. And they say that every year, on the night of the accident, the driver and signal-box man reappear as ghosts to haunt those who remain at the school past midnight, and will kill those who have family or have considered careers in railroading, as if to tell them not to do it."

Percy whimpered in fear; James and Thomas both shook madly, and their pistons rattled loudly on their wheels. Even Gordon and Edward looked spooked. Henry added, "The girl told me that her English teacher had actually seen the ghosts, but wasn't killed because, coincidentally, the driver was her great-great uncle."

"What's all this?"

All the engines froze as they heard the unmistakeable voice of Sir Topham Hatt. They were so busy listening to Henry's ghost story that they hadn't heard the crunch of the car wheels on the gravel. The Fat Controller stepped forward, and looked disapprovingly at Henry. "I do not approve of ghost stories being told to any other engines – especially on a night like tonight, just a week before Halloween."

Thomas spoke up, still slightly scared after Henry's story. "To be fair, sir, all of us except for Edward were telling ghost stories."

"And why's this, Edward?" the Fat Controller asked the small blue tender engine.

"I don't usually believe in ghosts, sir. But Henry's story has put a new light on the situation."

"I still don't approve." The Fat Controller straightened his yellow waistcoat. "I came here to tell you all tonight that we are going to be holding a fireworks display on Halloween near Knapford, whilst all the children attend a disco nearby. Almost everyone on the island will be there, at the display and disco respectively, so I expect you all to act on your best behaviour. And Henry," he added. "You'll be pulling the express on that night, so do arrive on time… don't dawdle in the forest with Edward." And with that, he got back into his car and drove away.

Everyone was silent, pondering over the Fat Controller's words. Then Gordon blinked, and said, "Well, that was awkward." He glared over at Henry, who shrank down on his wheels. "You'd better look after those coaches and the passengers. Don't crash the Express – _my_ Express – like you did the Flying Kipper, now, Henry."

"Oh, shut up, Gordon!" Edward snapped. Henry was grateful.

* * *

As the week progressed, everyone planned various pranks on each other. Gordon found out that James and Percy were the ones who had told the schoolboys to paint pumpkins, bats and cats all over his boiler and tender whilst he was sleeping, and pranked them back by getting the same schoolboys to put sticky adhesive glue over the duo and sprinkle cocoa powder all over them so that they looked like chocolate engines – Edward joked that they looked good enough to eat, which had everyone in hysterics. Thomas draped an old white sheet over himself to spook Percy, and succeeded; the green tank engine puffed straight into another dirt bank.

Edward and Henry's prank, though, was by far the best, as they had managed to get Thomas, Percy and Toby's drivers and firemen, as well as the workmen, in on it without telling anyone else.

Edward was slowly making his way up Gordon's hill – extra slowly, as he knew that Gordon and James were pulling a duo load of decorations for Knapford – until he heard the familiar toots of the irate Gordon and James. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" James called ahead of him and the express engine, who harrumphed. Edward, his driver and his fireman smirked to themselves. Now for their plan.

"As you wish," Edward called back, and with a mighty tug! – the trucks he was pulling behind him (filled with nothing but orange and golden glitter) broke away from him as the coupling snapped. Edward reached the top of the hill, and whistled loudly to Henry, who waited at the bottom of the other side of the hill. "Now for Phase Two!" he yelled down to the green tender engine, who slowly made his way up Gordon's hill. Thomas and Percy's drivers and firemen had helped Henry and Edward's in painting splodges of brown, dark crimson-red and rotting green over the rebuilt engine, and Toby's driver and fireman had painted his face in a ill pallor, with flecks of red paint – red for blood – sprinkled over his eyelids, forehead, cheeks and nose. The workmen had loosened the valve for his whistle in a way that made it sound in a lower pitch, more deathly.

He was portraying the ghost train from his story.

As soon as he reached the top, his driver let go of his brakes, and Henry rushed down the other side of Gordon's hill, whistling lowly and staring straight ahead at James, who shrieked in fear and pushed Gordon down the hill. Both were covered from buffer to tender in glitter. Gordon looked around James, and whistled in fear, too. They both retreated down the hill as fast as they could, as Henry called out lowly, "You shall all die tonight!" James was positively sobbing by that point; he couldn't bear to look ahead.

Edward was laughing heartily as Henry came back a few minutes later, grinning as he climbed the steep hill and stopped next to Edward. They both laughed as they remember the sight of James and Gordon's faces. They eventually calmed down, and Henry said to Edward, "Mind if I leave you to go and have a wash-down before the Fat Controller finds me like this?"

"No, not at all," Edward replied, still smirking as Henry went down the hill towards the nearest wash-down bay.

* * *

As the soapy suds were rubbed all over Henry, washing the paint off, he had time to think about the possibility of having feelings for Edward. He felt slightly uneasy at the sensation that erupted in his boiler just by thinking of the smaller, blue tender engine. He hadn't anticipated having these sort of feelings for any engine, especially a guy engine. Henry sighed.

The familiar honk of the Fat Controller's car brought Henry out of his reverie, and he looked at the head of the railway as the man said, "Ready to pull the express tonight, Henry?"

"Ready and raring to go, sir!" Henry said enthusiastically. He didn't dare blow his whistle, lest the Fat Controller find out about his and Edward's prank on James and Gordon. "Just having a wash-down to be nice and shiny and so clean-clean for the passengers tonight!"

"Good, good. Well done, Henry." The Fat Controller started to walk back to his car, before he paused and turned to face Henry with a smirk. "Nice joke, by the way. Those two always were too big for their buffers."

Henry gaped in shock after the Fat Controller as he drove away.

* * *

Edward sighed as Henry sidled up to him just before he was due to leave with the express to take people from all over the island home after the fireworks display. James and Gordon had opted to stay in the sheds, too scared to come out after being spooked by Henry. Thomas, Percy and Toby had laughed about it once Edward and Henry had told them. Henry looked up at the magnificent display with his… he dared to think _fancy_, and smiled. "Today was great, wasn't it?"

Edward smiled back at Henry. "Yeah, it was."

Henry cleared his throat. "Edward, I… I need to tell you something, and I'm afraid it might seem a little forward…"

Edward frowned. "Okay…? Should I be worried?"

Henry looked away for a second. "Perhaps, perhaps not." He paused. "Give me a couple of moments to come back…"

Henry left Edward, and the blue tender engine was left wondering what Henry was doing, until the green tender engine came back, on the same track and _facing him_. Edward's firebox roared. _Oh God… is he…?_

_Edward! Snap out of it! This is what you've always wanted, no?_ a snide voice remarked in the back of his mind. Edward told it to shut the hell up. Henry rolled forwards slowly, smiling nervously and blushing lightly.

"I… I've always liked you, Edward. I know, from before the crash – from what Thomas, Gordon and James have told me – I'd always been a bit of an arse towards you, but I still liked you. I think… I think I've always liked you as more than a friend, and more than a brother." He looked down briefly, and looked back up. "Edward, I love you."

Edward gasped. "Henry…"

Henry smiled shyly. "And I'm not completely oblivious – I know you like – no, _love_ – me, too. All the looks, the affectionate feeling I could see shimmering in your eyes whenever you looked at me–"

"Henry," Edward said, grinning and blushing, "don't tell me you're waxing on poetic there?"

"I could tell you…" Henry teased, before he looked at Edward with a look that the blue engine had always wanted to see on the green engine's face. "Now shut up and kiss me before I get cross."

Edward's eyes slid half-closed as he rolled closer to his soul-mate – closer than he'd ever been to any engine before – and pressed his lips to Henry's. And as the two kissed, the fireworks continued to go off above them. Now they knew what the humans meant when fireworks went off as you kissed your soul-mate.

Unbeknownst to them, Thomas and Percy were watching silently, with the Fat Controller standing in Percy's cab. "At long last," Thomas whispered to the pair beside him, who both laughed quietly.

* * *

**A/N:** The ghost story that Henry tells the other engines is actually a real ghost story from my hometown - Wiveliscombe, in Somerset, England. The school I go to (until sometime in May next year – yes!) was actually built on top of an old railway for both narrow and standard gauge engines, and there was a real crash there. My English teacher said that she did actually see the ghosts. She also heard the ghostly train whistle… I think she had just dunk enough coffee to feel tired and hallucinate over these things, though.

I, however, am not a girl. Just thought I'd say that.

Sorry to **The Raging Blue Flame**, I sorta stole one of your ideas from **Love and War**, when Erika went to turn around and face Gordon on the same track in Chapter 3. Sorry!

…Did anyone see what I did when Henry was having the wash-down? I partially included one of Zayn's lines from **The Adventurous Adventures of One Direction 2** by Mark Parsons!

"_Yeah, well, now thanks to you, the flies love me. I usually smell so fresh and so clean-clean!"_

Don't worry, the story isn't over yet! Obviously, Henry and Edward will have to face some trials and tribulations – no couple ever journeys on the course of "plain sailing" when it comes to love… You'll see what kind of hell, as well as emotional – and sexual – tension I put them through.

Reviews are like puppies – they make you feel good. (Not like my mind tells me, just, y'know...) So, please review! I'd like to know what you think so far! :)


	4. IV: Disconnected Clockwork

**A/N:** Just as a quick shoutout to my Sonic-writing pal, **Cassy The Cat**, thank you for coming back to FanFiction! It's a shame that you've sold your life to anime (like every other teen in the world), but I'm glad you're back!

I'm quite impressed with this chapter - not only is it my favourite chapter (seeing as it's the one I've wanted to write since I came up with this idea), but also because I wrote the entire thing on my new Android tablet (widescreen, 10", version 4.1.1). So yes, very impressed with this chapter. It will include why I think Edward wasn't seen in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, so time syncing in this story will be awful, considering TATMR saw girls and women wearing trousers. For the sake of this story, let's just imagine that Henry's crash with the Flying Kipper was sometime in the 90s. And Duck has already arrived (because he's never actually seen in Magic Railroad, is he?). (grins hopefully) Is that okay with everyone? Written whilst listening to the Starry Night remix of "Dreams of an Absolution" (Silver the Hedgehog's theme song), "Clocks" by Coldplay, and "Dear My Friend" by Brent Cash for Sonic Unleashed.

Sorry for any gramatical/spelling errors. Now you can read the chapter, and I can go argue with my friend over which is a better movie - _The Fifth Element_, or _Lost in Space_.

* * *

**CHAPTER IV**

_~Disconnected Clockwork~_

As weeks passed after their first kiss, Henry and Edward tried to find a rhythm that would fit their needs and wants, which would coincide with their workloads each day, and would make it possible for them to be together without anyone finding out. It had been difficult so far, what with Henry having to pull the Flying Kipper again, but they had managed to steal a few more kisses from each other in the privacy of the forest and Henry's tunnel at the dead of night.

And they were happy. So very happy.

* * *

One day, Henry was speeding home to Tidmouth after delivering a long load of trucks to the docks, filled with slate and sandstone from the quarry; he was eager to see Edward again, and perhaps let his sweetheart steal another kiss, when he heard a familiar whistle. He slowed down as Thomas pulled up beside him, and Henry smiled at the blue tank engine. "Hello, Thomas. What brings you out here?"

Thomas grinned back, but it was a slightly sad grin. "Edward says he's sorry he hasn't had a chance to tell you this himself, but the Fat Controller is taking a much-needed holiday, and he's chosen to take Edward with him as his own private engine whilst he's away." Thomas paused to let Henry register the news. "It'll only be for a fortnight or so, but they're leaving tomorrow morning with Lady Hatt and the grandchildren for the mainland, so if you want to say your goodbyes, you'd best go quickly."

Thomas started to puff away; then he paused again and gave Henry a wicked smirk. "I know about you two, and so do Percy and the Fat Controller, so I told Edward and he told me to relay another message to you. Meet him in the old and abandoned coach sheds in Knapford at midnight tonight. He has a surprise for you."

With that, Thomas left Henry to ponder on his thoughts.

* * *

With some trepidition, Henry left Tidmouth Sheds that night to go and see Edward at the place he had requested. He slowly trundled into Knapford Station, looking around for Edward. Why had he chosen such a public place? He called out softly, "Edward?"

There was no response. Henry was about to call out again, when a quiet whistle finally answered him. He followed the sound around the corner, and came to a stop in front of the old coach sheds. His mouth opened into a small 'O' shape as Edward puffed out of the darkness, grinning and blushing bashfully. He had been given a fresh coat of paint, with brighter red stripes, and the yellow-and-red number two on his tender had been given an extra layer of varnish, standing out and shining in the dim moonlight. His buffers were clear of any scuffs and scratches, and his wheels had been polished until they looked like they were embedded with diamonds. And, possibly for the sake of the trip, he had been given a nameplate which spelled out his name in bright, white-gold letters on a crimson background, placed on both sides of his boiler. Edward looked at Henry shyly, and asked in a quiet whisper, "How do I look?"

Henry was speechless. "I... I think... you are..." He smiled at Edward and sighed. "You are so beautifully handsome, there are no words to describe how you look right now." He rolled forwards, and gently kissed Edward, smiling more broadly as the blue tender engine started to kiss him back. They both groaned quietly, quickly recognising the feeling of belonging that always appeared when they were together. Edward started to back into the shed, and Henry followed eagerly, though he was confused as to what sort of surprise his soulmate had in store for him. They giggled, and Henry pulled away from Edward, grinning broadly. "So? What's my surprise? What do we do now?" Edward just looked at him with a raised eyebrow; he looked extremely pleased with his handiwork at making Henry want him more than ever. Henry's eyes widened dramatically, before he smirked in a rather seductive way, causing shivers and ripples of pleasure to run through Edward. "Oh, you naughty boy..."

Edward looked back at Henry, equally as seductive. "I'm not finished with you yet..." he chuckled, backing further into the shadows of the shed. Henry had no choice but to follow; it was like Edward had cast a spell over him. He smirked.

"Won't I make you untidy?"

"I couldn't care less. Now shut up, Henry, and just kiss me."

* * *

The next morning saw Edward leaving at the break of dawn to pick up the coach that the Hatts would be travelling in. He hoped that Henry would be alright.

He arrived at Wellsworth Station right on time. Lady Hatt and the grandchildren all scrambled into the coach coupled up to Edward. Meanwhile, Sir Topham Hatt had donned some overalls and climbed into Edward's cab. He joined the driver and fireman, and nodded at them, before climbing round to the front of Edward and sitting down on his buffers. They had about ten minutes to go before they were due to leave - before Gordon arrived at the station on the first leg of the morning express.

"Sir?" Edward asked in a quiet whisper. "Why didn't you say anything - about me and Henry?"

The Fat Controller smiled up at the old engine. "Because I felt that you two deserved some privacy. I had to order Thomas and Percy to stay away from the pair of you, and to not blurt it out in front of Gordon, James and Toby. Duck, too."

"Duck, sir?" Edward frowned in confusion as the Fat Controller laughed.

"Why, didn't you know, Edward?" He paused dramatically, and Edward was hanging on his every word. "Duck is sweet on you."

Just then, the stationmaster arrived to tell them that Gordon was on his way. The Fat Controller stood up, off of Edward's front plate, and went around to the carriage his family were waiting in. And with a huff, and a puff, they were off.

As soon as they had disappeared out of sight, James slowly puffed out of a hidden siding, looking off after the smaller blue tender engine with confusion on his face. _Edward and Henry? Who would've guessed?_ he thought to himself. Gordon wheeshed into the station, and saw his smaller friend sat there in the siding. "James? What's the matter?"

James looked at Gordon. "Meet me at the shunting yards later and I'll tell you then. Tell Toby to come along, too." With that, he puffed off to get some more rest before starting the day's work ahead of him.

* * *

Henry shoved the trucks moodily as he glowered at no one in particular. It had only been three days since Edward had left with the Hatts on their holiday, but it felt like it could have been an eternity to Henry. His driver peered warily out of his cab. "Careful, Henry. You'll break something if you don't take care."

"That's the point!" Henry yelled suddenly, startling his driver and fireman, as well as the trucks. "I don't care!" He sighed, his breath hitching as he whimpered, "I miss Edward..."

Behind some trucks sat Thomas and Percy. They were worried. They looked at each other, concern etched on their faces. They slowly began to puff out of the shunting yards, to tell Mr Conductor about their fears, when they heard something they knew meant trouble.

"James, you were imagining things. Why on earth would Edward and Henry be a couple without telling the rest of us?"

The two tank engines halted, and listened silently behind some trucks.

"But I know what I heard! The Fat Controller said that he had to order Thomas and Percy to keep away from them, and from blurting it out in front of us three and Duck!"

"Hang on." Toby spoke up now. "Isn't Henry supposed to be shunting right now, in this very yard?"

Thomas and Percy's eyes widened, and they quickly chuffed back towards Henry, stopping right in front of him and making him come to stop. Henry frowned. "Thomas? Percy? What are you-"

"Henry, you have to leave, now! We'll do the shunting for you, just go!" Percy panted. Henry frowned even more.

"But-"

"Henry, the others minus Duck know about you and Edward! You need to go, otherwise they'll bully the answer out of you!" Thomas snapped impatiently. Henry's eyes widened, and he quickly puffed out of the shunting yards. Thomas and Percy started to shunt the trucks just as Gordon, James and Toby arrived.

"Hey, you two. Isn't Henry supposed to be shunting today?" Gordon asked, false cheeriness in his voice. Thomas and Percy looked at each other, trying to think of an excuse.

"He, uh-"

"They ran out of his special coal, so he tried going on normal coal, but failed rather spectacularly, so he's been told he can't work until the new batch of coal arrives. I think I saw him sleeping in a siding near the Smelter's Yard," Percy quickly lied. Amazingly, the three engine bought Percy's lie, and puffed away to find him elsewhere. Thomas looked at Percy, a surprised grin curling his lips.

"How'd you think that one up?"

"Because they actually have run out of his coal. He's using the last lot today," Percy chuckled. Thomas laughed, too.

"Nice lie!"

* * *

Henry was taking a rest in siding, hidden away from the rest of the track behind some bushes, when he heard two very familiar whistles and a bell. He, his driver and fireman held their breath as Gordon, James and Toby passed by, debating over where Henry could be. Their voices slowly faded into the distance, and Henry sighed, slowly pulling out of the siding, before a massive force slammed into him from behind, forcing him forward a few feet. He winced as he felt his driver's head smack into his controls - he couldn't imagine what the poor man was going through.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Henry knew that screech all too well. He paled, and sat stock still as Duck ranted at him for taking Edward away. "He was my only chance at true love! And you went and stole him away!"

"To be fair, Duck, he made it pretty obvious that he's in love with me-"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Duck screamed, and Henry went silent. Duck started to push him from the siding, just as James came back into vision. He gasped as Henry's wheels screeched on the tracks, and sparks flew into the woodland.

"Duck! What the hell are you doing!?"

Just then, a loud cackle came from around the bend. All the Steamies froze in fear as Diesel 10 appeared, sneering and laughing as he saw the marks on Henry's rear tender buffers from Duck's bashing.

"Cor, blimey! Two Steamies fighting over the old crackpot and who he loves more!" The diesel laughed loudly. "I never thought I'd see the day!"

"Shut up! Edward's not an old crackpot!" Henry roared fiercely. Duck snarled, and James glared at Diesel 10.

"Yeah! Edward's really useful engine, and doesn't need help from anyone - especially a dirty diesel like you!"

Diesel 10 scoffed, smirking. "Help you? Diesels are much more efficient than you stinky Steamies. You're all worthless, useless hunks of metal who deserve to be scrapped!" His claw snapped visciously.

"What's going on here?"

Diesel 10 froze as Thomas puffed up with Mr Conductor stood in his cab, both frowning at the diesel. Henry, Duck and James all thanked their lucky stars right then. Mr Conductor analysed the situation, and gave Diesel 10 a stern talking-to, before Thomas started to puff away.

But as the tank engine was about to round the corner, the pair heard a ferocious snap, a cry of pain, and James yelling, "YOU ARSEHOLE!"

* * *

Edward sighed as he relaxed down on his wheels. The Hatts were visiting a very pleasant seaside town in Somerset - Minehead, he'd heard other engines call it - and the group were down at the beach, relaxing and playing in the sea. He smiled as he heard the children laughing and giggling, their parents or grandparents chuckling and following behind them.

He felt a nudge against his rear tender buffers, and opened his eyes to see one of the other engines trying to get his attention. The Stirling engine smiled at him. "Looks like you have some admirers." Edward looked to the pavement on his left, and smiled as he saw a young boy who was indeed admiring him. He turned excitedly to his parents.

"Ma! Pa! Come and have a look! It's one of the famous Sodor engines!"

The boy's parents arrived on scene, smiling and looking awestruck as they saw Edward sitting there in the siding. The boy's father rubbed his glasses clean with a cloth, grinning up at the engine. "So you're Edward, huh?" The man chuckled. "Funny. That happens to be my name as well."

The mother stroked her husband's arm. "You only changed your name because you were annoyed at how common the name Alex was." She had a thick American accent, with long blonde hair that she had appeared to have streaked liberally with blue. Very rebellious. Edward liked her, he liked them all. The man smiled at his wife.

"Delenn, my dear, Alex is a common name - especially in my family. So I chose Edward because it is a unique name to me." He patted her arm, and ruffled his son's fluffy hair. "Which is why I refused point blank when my mother suggested the name Alex for our dear boy here. I only chose the best name-"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Yes, we know. Brendan, for your idol, Brendan Coyle."

"He's a fantastic actor!"

Suddenly, as the man was saying this, pushing his short, dark brown hair out of his face, Edward felt a deep pang - a pang of hurt and worry - in his boiler. He winced. The Stirling looked at him, concerned. "Hey, are you okay?" Her thick Scottish brogue was soothing to hear, but it didn't reduce the sudden homesickness Edward felt. He missed Henry dearly, and something about the pang made him worry about his lover.

Just then, Stephen Hatt came back from the beach, clad in just a pair of swimming trunks and a hastily donned shirt. He was frantic and panicking. "Edward! Grandfather's just received a phone call from Mr Conductor - Diesel 10 attacked Henry!"

Edward's world was suddenly a blur as he passed out from the shock. Faintly, he heard Stephen yelling his name, the Stirling and the family crying out in shock as he slipped into the dark world of unconsciousness.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, I bet you were NOT expecting that! Listen out for Chapter Five soon! (In a few chapters time, we'll meet the Stirling again! Guess who! You never know, she could be my own match for another of the tender engines...)

Also, to **The Raging Blue Flame**: thanks for the mention at the end of Chapter One for "Getting it out of My System & Other Stories", and I thought Chapter Three was awesome! Totes amaze-balls! (It just had to be said.) Hope you find amusement in Henry's new quote! (CLUE: "tidiness" comes into it...)


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